Knicks-Pacers Preview

By JORDAN GARRETSONPosted Feb 19 2013 6:52PM

With the NBA's oldest roster and the team experiencing a brief slump, the New York Knicks might have needed the All-Star break rest more than any other team.

For the Indiana Pacers, the break meant they grew even closer to the return of Danny Granger. Though he likely won't make his season debut Wednesday night when New York comes to town, the Pacers' offense has made strides without him as Paul George continues to blossom.

The teams split two meetings earlier this season with each squad winning on its home floor. Carmelo Anthony missed the Knicks' loss due to a suspension and scored a game-high 26 in their win.

New York (32-18) comes out of the break 1 1/2 games ahead of Indiana for second in the Eastern Conference despite dropping three of its last four games.

"I think we might have been thinking about the break beforehand," said Amare Stoudemire, who totaled 30 points over the last three games after averaging 20.0 in the previous three. "... I think now we've had a chance to refocus and hopefully we can get it going."

Anthony is coming off a strong performance in the All-Star game with 26 points on 8-of-14 shooting despite originally being uncertain to play after bruising his right arm in a 92-88 loss to Toronto last Wednesday. He had 12 points on 5-of-24 shooting in that game after averaging 36.3 in the previous three.

Jason Kidd, who turns 40 next month, said the team needs to do a better job of sharing the basketball instead of leaning so heavily on Anthony for offensive production.

New York is among the league's worst in assists at 19.7 per game, including an average of 14.0 in the last four. Anthony's 22.1 field-goal attempts per game are the most in the NBA.

"Melo knows that, too," coach Mike Woodson said. "Melo's not here to do but one thing, and that's to help us win basketball games. I think he's done a hell of a job up to this point by his play and guys around him playing at a high level and getting better as we go along."

The Pacers (32-21), winners of 16 of 18 at home, went into the break leading the league in both field-goal defense (41.7 percent) and opponents' scoring average (89.9).

While averaging only 92.8 points on the season with Granger sidelined, Indiana's offense has found a better rhythm, scoring 98 or more in eight of the last 10 while averaging 22.2 assists.

Granger, the team's top scorer each of the past five seasons, resumed practice just before the break. He's still officially listed as day-to-day and likely won't return until Friday's game against Detroit.

"He looks good," George told the team's official website. "His mobility is great. There's going to be some time before he trusts how hard he can push, but he looks great out there how he's moving."

George followed his first career triple-double in last Wednesday's 101-77 win over Charlotte with a solid first-time All-Star performance Sunday. He recorded 17 points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals in just 20 minutes.

George, whose career average is 12.2 points, has scored 20 or more in seven of the past 11 games.

David West is listed as a probable starter for Wednesday after missing his first game of the season last Wednesday because of a scratched eye.

Copyright 2013 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited

Pacers rout Knicks, pull closer to second in East

By CLIFF BRUNTPosted Feb 20 2013 11:21PM

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) The Indiana Pacers looked ready for the playoffs. The New York Knicks looked like they wanted a longer All-Star break.

Paul George scored 27 points and the Pacers powered their way closer to the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference by beating the Knicks 125-91 on Wednesday night.

"We were focused, since day one coming back," George said. "I think we really showed it tonight."

David West had 18 points and nine rebounds, and Lance Stephenson added 14 points for Indiana (33-21), which pulled within a half-game of the Knicks for second place in the East.

The Pacers shot 53 percent from the field, scored a season-high point total and had a season-best 28 assists against the Atlantic Division leaders. It was Indiana's largest margin of victory this season and New York's worst loss.

"We didn't show up," Knicks coach Mike Woodson said. "They whipped our (expletive) from beginning to end. It was nothing pretty about tonight's game. It's unacceptable. I mean, we didn't compete. That's on all of us."

Tyson Chandler led New York (32-19) with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Carmelo Anthony, the league's No. 2 scorer, finished with 15 points on 7-for-21 shooting.

George, fresh off a strong performance in his first All-Star Game appearance, made 11 of 19 shots, grabbed eight rebounds and played solid defense against Anthony.

Because of the blowout, Pacers coach Frank Vogel tried to downplay it afterward.

"We have to understand it's just one win," Vogel said. "The Knicks didn't have it tonight. Every team in the league has nights like this."

The Knicks didn't just play poorly, they lost their cool. New York was called for three individual technical fouls and a flagrant foul, and J.R. Smith was ejected.

Anthony appeared to be trying to send George a message early in the game, using his strength to overpower the more slender George near the basket. But George remained calm, played his game and made it his night.

Chandler, the only Knicks starter who played well, was frustrated the entire game as the Pacers hammered him with the physical style that has helped them lead the league in scoring defense.

"I think we got under their skin a little bit, but we can only control what's in this locker room and I think we came out with an edge tonight," George said.

Indiana held the Knicks to 34 percent shooting, and New York was shooting just under 30 percent after three quarters.

"We man up and hold each other accountable each possession, and then when things do go wrong, your teammate has your back," Indiana point guard George Hill said. "We have a special team and a special group where 1 through 5, no matter if it's our starters or our bench, everybody can guard their man. You have to tip your hat to having such great defensive players on this team."

The Pacers led 37-21 in the second quarter when Amare Stoudemire picked up his third foul and was called for a technical.

As Indiana's lead grew, the Knicks unraveled. Kurt Thomas committed four fouls in six minutes, in the second quarter, then argued with fans when he went to the bench. Raymond Felton was called for a flagrant foul for elbowing Jeff Pendergraph.

Smith and Stephenson were jawing for much of the final minute of the first half, and they were called for double-technicals right after the halftime buzzer.

Indiana shot 60 percent from the field and led 74-44 at the break. George led the Pacers with 20 points in the first half, including a dynamic two-handed jam through traffic with 21 seconds left in the second quarter. Indiana's bench scored 27 points before the break and the Pacers made 23 of 29 free throws in the first half.

"You can't give up 44 points in the second quarter, that's unacceptable," Chandler said. "When you give up 74 points in the first half to a team that doesn't even score that much, you're asking for a loss."

New York continued to fall apart in the second half. Smith was ejected in the third quarter, and the Pacers hit the 100-point mark with just over two minutes left in the third quarter. Indiana's largest lead was 39 points.

"We've got to get it together if we want to accomplish the things that we've talked about," Chandler said. "We've got to play a lot better than this. When you get beat like this, it's everybody from the top down."

Notes: Indiana forward Danny Granger is close to a return. The former All-Star has missed the season with a sore left knee. Vogel said he would bring Granger back slowly and as a reserve. ... The Pacers shot 61.1 percent in the first quarter and led 30-18. ... Indiana center Roy Hibbert fouled out with 8:18 remaining. He finished with eight points and four rebounds. ... Indiana committed 21 turnovers. ... Indiana improved to 22-5 at home.

Copyright 2013 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited

Notebook: Pacers 125, Knicks 91

THE FACTS: New York coach Mike Woodson said beforehand he figured this would be an ugly game. He had it half right. While the Knicks could do nothing right, the Indiana Pacers put on a nearly flawless performance, staging what amounted to its own 3-point and slam-dunk contests in rolling to a stunning 125-91 blowout Wednesday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Paul George scored 27 points with eight rebounds to lead Indiana (33-21), which led by as many as 39 points and closed to one-half game behind the Knicks (32-19) in the race for the second seed in the Eastern Conference. David West added 18 for the Pacers, who took a 2-1 lead in the season series with one game remaining April 14 in New York. Tyson Chandler had 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Knicks (32-19).

QUOTABLE: "There's no better way to come out of the break than to play the team immediately above you in the standings. We want to close the gap. We want to take the two seed from New York and we want to try to push Miami for the one seed. Any win's a confidence-booster, but especially a big win against a great team against the Knicks."

-- Indiana coach Frank Vogel

THE STAT: Indiana posted season highs for points, margin of victory (34), biggest lead (39) and points in a quarter (44 in the second) and half (74 in the first).

TURNING POINT: Indiana got off to a quick start, but the Knicks were within striking distance -- down 30-21 after Steve Novak's 3-pointer to open the second quarter. But the Knicks would miss their next seven shots, while the Pacers' reserves put together a 13-2 run featuring eight points from Orlando Johnson to open a 43-23 lead and it was all downhill from there for New York.

QUOTABLE II: "This is not a statement. This is just another game on the schedule."

-- Indiana guard George Hill

HOT: George was 11-for-19 overall, and 4-for-9 from the 3-point line as Indiana's starters combined to shoot 29-for-48 (.604). ... Chandler was 11-for-11 from the free-throw line. ... Chris Copeland came off the Knicks bench to score 13 points in 10 minutes in the fourth quarter.

NOT: Carmelo Anthony scored just 15 points 7-for-21 shooting, 1-for-6 from the 3-point line. ... Smith and Iman Shumpert both shot 1-for-7, and Jason Kidd was scoreless, missing all three of this shots. ... Amar'e Stoudemire was 1-for-5.

QUOTABLE III: "We got to get it together, we definitely have to get it together. If we want to accomplish the things that we've talked about, we have to play a lot better than this. They played like a team tonight. We got our [behind's] whipped. We have to play harder."

-- Tyson Chandler

NOTABLE: Things got combative in the second quarter. Stoudemire picked up a technical foul for vigorously protesting his third foul early in the period. Raymond Felton was hit with a Type 1 Flagrant Foul for elbowing Jeff Pendergraph with 2:02 remaining, and J.R. Smith and Lance Stephenson earned double-technicals for going chest-to-chest after the halftime buzzer sounded, prompting a scrum at center court. ... Smith was later ejected in the third quarter for protesting an offensive foul called when he threw a high elbow in Stephenson's direction on a clearout. ... Indiana had three four-point possessions in the second period. ... One of the NBA's most prolific 3-point shooting teams, the Knicks were 1-for-15 in the first half and finished 5-for-28 (.179). ... New York shot .337 overall, while Indiana was at .532. ... The Pacers made 11 3-pointers and had 10 dunks. ... Danny Granger's comeback will have to wait at least one more game. After practicing with the team Monday night and Tuesday, Granger did not feel ready to make his regular season debut. The Pacers originally hoped Granger would return for two or three games before the All-Star break. Now, they're targeting Friday's home game with Detroit. ... New York played without Marcus Camby (foot) and Rasheed Wallace (foot). Both have begun light workouts but are not close to returning.